Jul 262022
 

Salem’s Ice Scream Bowl is back! It’s time to sample some of the best ice cream in the North Shore from some of the many ice cream shops the area has to offer. Salem’s Ice Scream Bowl event will be held on Wednesday, August 3 on the Salem Common from 6:00-7:30 p.m., rain or shine. A Heritage Days favorite, this annual event is a chance to taste some classic flavors and new combinations from the area’s premier ice cream shops.

A few of the homegrown local businesses serving samples at the event will include Captain Dusty’s Ice Cream, Cherry Farm Creamery, Holy Cow Ice Cream Café, Maria’s Sweet Somethings, Melt Ice Cream and more. Local DJs the Salem Halloween Girls will be spinning some sweet tunes to keep you moving!

The cost is $6 for adults and $4 for children. Tickets are purchased on site on the day of the event, cash only.  A spoon and napkins will be supplied with the purchase of a ticket. All of our materials are recyclable or compostable in an effort to reduce the impact of this popular event.

Proceeds go to support Salem Main Streets, a nonprofit organization focusing on the continued revitalization of downtown Salem as a vibrant year-round retail, dining, and cultural destination. Salem Main Streets organizes the Salem Farmers’ Market and many other events in downtown Salem, as well as offering direct business support to downtown businesses. The Ice Scream Bowl is coordinated in partnership between Salem Main Streets and the City of Salem as part of Salem Heritage Days.

This year’s Ice Scream Bowl will be directly followed by the Salem Common Neighborhood Association’s Movie Night! This Wednesday’s movie will be “Encanto,” starting at 8 pm. Bring a blanket and camp chairs so you can settle in after your ice cream to catch an outdoor movie with your neighbors.

The 2022 Ice Scream Bowl is made possible thanks to the support of Broad Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, Modern Millie Shop, Wicked Good Books, and District Trading Company, as well as the generous donation of product and staff time by the participating ice cream shops!  This year’s event was additionally funded in part by the City of Salem and U.S. Economic Development Administration.

For any other questions or comments regarding this event, please contact Kylie Sullivan at Salem Main Streets at (978) 744-0004 x115 or email at kylie@salemmainstreets.org.

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Mar 192022
 

Thank you to all of you who were able to join us for our 2022 Annual Meeting! If you missed out or if you wanted to review anything, you can access the full slideshow here. A few accomplishments we especially celebrated included a business GAIN since the start of the pandemic, incredibly low storefront vacancy in the downtown district, a steady increase in small locally-grown businesses opening in the past few years, the return of so many of our favorite SMS-run community events, and a BEAUTIFUL new brand video about Salem Main Streets and the downtown district, produced by Queer Videography with additional content provided by Creative Collective.

Thank you again to all our 2021-2022 supporters and sponsors, including the City of Salem, Mass Growth Capital Corporation, Salem Chamber of Commerce, Destination Salem, INSA, Creative Collective, Eastern Bank, and Fox Pest Control – and all our special event sponsors and individual donors who lend their support all year long!

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Mar 182022
 

Salem Main Streets is hiring a part-time Events Coordinator!

The Events Coordinator will be responsible for managing most aspects of event coordination for Salem Main Streets. This position will also assist with the daily administrative operations of the organization, as well as the overall financial and programmatic development of the organization.

Applicants should have education and/or experience in one or more of the following areas: event planning, volunteer management, or nonprofit administration.

Job Details:

  • Part-time position – 20 to 35 hours per week, reflecting additional responsibilities during event weeks.
  • Availability on some weekends is required
  • $19-$23 per hour, commensurate with experience
  • No benefits included at this time

Job Responsibilities include:

  • Under the supervision of the Salem Main Streets Executive Director, this position would be the primary organizer for Salem Main Streets events, including Salem Arts Festival, Salem’s So Sweet, New Year’s Eve LAUNCH!, etc., though some responsibilities will be split with SMS Executive Director as needed.
  • Establish and manage budgets for individual events, with the approval of the Executive Director.
  • Serves as primary point person for potential vendors, performers, and community partners for individual events, or establishes and monitors volunteer leadership for specific events.
  • Responsible for coordinating day-of operation of most SMS events (arranging load-in, preparing materials, volunteer management, clean up, etc.).
  • Assists with promotion and messaging of events (drafting press releases, ordering print materials, etc.).
  • Helps to track sponsorships for events, ensuring that sponsor agreements are honored and sponsorships are collected in a timely fashion
  • Maintains website for Salem Main Streets and related sites, or coordinates with volunteers to allocate work.
  • Assists with overall messaging and branding of Salem Main Streets as needed.
  • Helps build and maintain strong working relationships with community partners and supporters.
  • Assists in recruiting, training, and retaining volunteer work force.
  • Contributes to the daily work of the Salem Chamber of Commerce, where SMS offices are located – as needed, including answering phones, assisting visitors, etc.

Job Requirements

  • Ability to develop, plan, and coordinate project and program activities
  • Work independently as well as in a team environment
  • Ability to multi-task and move quickly between different projects
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills
  • Expertise in volunteer management preferred
  • Computer literacy (including Microsoft Office and very basic web design / HTML), or ability to learn
  • Ability to work flexible hours, including weekends
  • Ability to lift 25 lbs and stand for long periods preferable. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualified individuals are encouraged to apply with a cover letter, resume, and references to kylie@salemmainstreets.org. Position will remain open until a candidate is selected.

About Salem Main Streets

Salem Main Streets’ mission is the continued revitalization of downtown Salem as a vibrant, year-round, retail, dining and cultural destination through business retention, recruitment, and the promotion of the downtown district.  SMS produces and supports numerous community events and initiatives throughout the year, including the Salem Farmers’ Market, Salem Arts Festival, Salem’s So Sweet, and the October Information Booth. SMS is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and operates thanks to the generosity and partnership of the City of Salem and Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, the Salem Chamber of Commerce, Destination Salem, Creative Collective, INSA and many other local business sponsors and community volunteers. 

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Mar 122022
 

The Salem Arts Festival announces an invitation for the community to participate in the festival’s 14th year, running June 3 through June 5, 2022. Over 8,000 people regularly attend the family-friendly festival, transforming downtown Salem, MA into an opportunity for the arts community to showcase a wide range of talents. The festival includes a gallery of juried artists’ work in Old Town Hall, outdoor stage venues for performance and dance, an artist and artisan street fair, a collaborative public arts project, and much more! Special thanks to this year’s returning title sponsors Salem Five and Peabody Essex Museum for their continued support.

“The Arts Festival was the first community event we were able to hold when COVID-19 restrictions began lifting last year, and it was absolutely wonderful, but it was definitely in an adjusted form,” said Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets, co-organizer of the Salem Arts Festival. “We are so looking forward to bringing this special event back to full capacity in 2022.”

The Salem Arts Festival is especially pleased to announce that the festival, initially run as a project of Salem Main Streets, will continue to run in collaboration with the Creative Collective. Creative Collective LLC is a program with the mission of fostering the sustainability of the creative industries and supporting creative workforce development. John Andrews, founder of the Collective states, “The expansion of the event and overall celebration of arts and culture in Salem is so critically needed as we try and heal from the past and the creative community is still struggling to get back on its feet so we are excited to support and celebrate this critically important industry of creators.”

Applications for performers, street fair vendors, and the annual mural slam are now live at salemartsfestival.com, with deadlines in late March and early April. A juried gallery will be selected by an on-site review process again this year, to be held the weekend before the festival, May 27 through May 30. Artists interested in the gallery should complete an Intent to Apply online at salemartsfestival.com in order to receive the most up-to-date information about the gallery process.

For the 9th year, a community-built public art installation will be included as part of the festival, and the committee is currently in search of proposals from locally-based artists for this year’s project.  The project will ideally provide opportunities to create community engagement leading up to the festival, engage with a relevant issue in the community through the lens of art, and provide a compelling visual connection with this year’s festival theme of Connection and Connectivity.  The deadline for proposals is March 31st. More information is available at salemartsfestival.com/community-art-project.

The Salem Arts Festival is organized by Salem Main Streets, the Creative Collective and a collaboration of Salem organizations. This festival and many others are supported by tourism dollars, Destination Salem and the City of Salem. If you would like to support this dynamic annual cultural mainstay and economic driver, please contact Arielle Kaplan at arielle@creativecollectivema.com or visit salemartsfestival.com/2022-sponsor-opportunities

For more information about the Salem Arts Festival, please see www.salemartsfestival.com or contact Kylie Sullivan at kylie@salemmainstreets.org or (978)744-0004 (x115).

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Jan 222022
 

Salem Main Streets is looking for local farmers and food vendors to participate in the 2022 Salem Farmers’ Market located in downtown Salem in Derby Square on Thursdays, 3:00–7:00 p.m. from June 9 through October 13, 2022. 

Anyone wishing to sell their products at the market must submit an application for consideration by March 16, 2022.  Applications can be downloaded from www.salemfarmersmarket.org.  Booth space is $30 a week for a 10’ x 10’ spot, $60 for a 10’ x 20’ spot, and $90 for a 10’ by 30’ spot.  There is a discount for prepayment of the entire season.

“We are so proud of our market vendors, and we hope to see many returning to us at Derby Square this season, but we’re also always on the look-out for the next up and coming business,” said Salem Main Streets Executive Director Kylie Sullivan. “This is the perfect opportunity for newer businesses looking to get to the next level, as well as established businesses looking to reach a new audience.”

All products must be grown or produced in New England. If a farmer is selling any items he/she did not grow, the farm of origin must be listed. Vendors may label items organic only if they are certified. Sullivan notes that the market is especially looking for bread, cheese, and meat vendors.

Non-farm products must be high quality, locally made, take skill and creativity, and the vendor must add at least 75% of the total value to the product.  The product(s) should be complementary to a farmers’ market. 

Entering its 14th season, the market welcomes an average of 2,000+ customers weekly.  The market is made possible through the leadership of Salem Main Streets and the Farmers’ Market Committee, as well as the generous contributions of numerous volunteers. 

For more information please contact Salem Main Streets Executive Director Kylie Sullivan via email at kylie@salemmainstreets.org or phone at 978-744-0004 x115. To get the latest updates about the market, visit our website at www.salemfarmersmarket.org, or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SalemMAFarmersMarket) or on Twitter (@salemfarmersmarket).

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